In Pictures: Wrestling Indian style

Jawala Tiwari, one of the known names in Kushti, spars with his student in his akhara (wrestling school) in the eastern city of Kolkata.

Early mornings in many Indian cities and villages are still often marked by the loud grunts of thickset men grappling with each other in earth pits, punctuated with the thud of falling bodies.

Kushti - a traditional form of Indian wrestling - is alive and kicking, though it is not anywhere near as glamorous as the American WWE wrestling broadcast on TV.

Kushti wrestling has been a major feature of Indian sporting life for thousands of years, and it continues to attract men and women seeking to flex their muscle.

In a nation obsessed with cricket, every city and town boasts of a few akharas (wrestling schools) where wrestlers congregate daily to test their prowess.

It's a hard life and training sessions last for hours. Wrestling bouts are harder: there are no rounds, and matches are known to last for 20 to 30 minutes until one wrestler manages to pin his or her opponent by their shoulder to the ground.

A traditional wrestler also leads a life of abstience: sex, wine, tobacco and drugs are not permitted.

The tough sacrifices though have brought rich dividends. Though cricket stars hog the limelight, some wrestlers nurtured at the akharas have gone on to win medals at the international stage, including the Olympics.

Young kustigirs (wrestlers) listen to the trainer in an akhara in New Delhi.

Kids strengthen their leg muscles by hanging from a parallel bar in an akhara in Kolkata.

Man giving dips in an akhara in Burabazar in Kolkata, while another man waits with heavy wooden dumbbells called mugur.

A young boy practices chin-ups in an akhara near Burrabazzar in Kolkata.

A kustigir boy comes out from his resdential hut at an akhara in Old Delhi.

A kustigir grinds dry fruits which are to be taken with milk, a must-drink for a kustigir.

A kustigir preparing food for his group. All the work is done by young kustigirs in residential akharas.

A kustigir working on his forearms at an akhara in Kolkata.

A kustigir works with his dumbbells at an akhara in Old Delhi.

A kustigir using parallel bars before sparring in an akhara in Kolkata.

One kustigir carrying another in an akhara in Kolkata, an exercise done to strengthen the waist.

Two kustigirs have a massage with the soil of the practicing area. This soil is very soft and made from different herbs and Indian spices, and has immense medicinal value.